Overview

• Union and SPD agreed to replace Bürgergeld with a new basic security system featuring much stricter sanctions, with a draft to move through cabinet and parliament for planned enactment by spring 2026.
• Planned rules include rapid escalation for missed Jobcenter appointments—an immediate second invite, a 30% cut for repeat absence, full payment stoppage on a third miss, and a potential loss of housing support in the following month.
• The DGB’s Yasmin Fahimi condemned the plans and said unions reserve the right to strike, while SPD youth and several party figures voiced objections as leaders urged waiting for the bill text.
• Economists warned of no short‑term billion‑euro savings and labor researchers stressed that outcomes hinge on Jobcenter capacity and better incentive design rather than harsher penalties alone.
• Health Minister Nina Warken is circulating a savings package under discussion that would cap hospital payment growth, halve the innovation fund, trim administration and raise patient co‑pays by about 50%, with the Schätzerkreis set to review 2026 GKV finances on October 15; the cabinet has already approved lifting the contribution assessment ceiling to €5,812.50, as the Left presses to raise or abolish the cap.